General George C. Marshall became Army Chief of Staff in September 1939. He took command of a neglected army, 17th in the world in terms of size. He quickly took note of world events and communicated his concern immediately to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

By the end of 1944 Germany was losing on all fronts. Her generals, faced with ever increasing armies armed with superior technology, fell back under the combined assaults in Italy, the Eastern Front, and France.